The Federal Bureau of Prisons classifies prisons into seven categories:
This list does not include military prisons, halfway houses, or prisons, jails, and other facilities operated by state or local governments that contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It also does not include facilities operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). [2]
Most United States penitentiaries (USPs) are high-security facilities, which have highly secured perimeters with walls or reinforced fences, multiple and single-occupant cell housing, the highest staff-to-inmate ratio, and close control of inmate movement. The most restrictive facility in the federal prison system is USP Florence ADMAX, the federal supermax prison, which holds inmates who are considered the most dangerous and in need of the tightest controls.
USP Leavenworth, USP Lewisburg, USP Lompoc, and USP Marion were originally operated as high-security facilities but have since been downgraded to medium-security facilities (former USP Lompoc has again been downgraded, to low-security). USP Atlanta, also a former high-security facility, is presently a low-security facility with the primary purpose of holding inmates until they are transferred to other institutions. In 2024, all former USP facilities were renamed to FCI facilities to more accurately reflect their security level. Many current USPs include minimum-security satellite camps on the same property and under the same administration as the higher-security units.
Federal correctional institutions (FCIs) are medium- and low-security facilities, which have strengthened perimeters (often double fences with electronic detection systems), mostly cell-type housing, a wide variety of work and treatment programs. FCI Terre Haute contains a more restrictive section designated as a communication management unit for inmates considered high-security risks. [1] FCI Marion contains one of two highly restrictive communication management units, which holds inmates under stricter controls.
In August 2016, Justice Department officials announced that the FBOP would be phasing out its use of contracted facilities, on the grounds that private prisons provide less safe and less effective services with no substantial cost savings. [98] However, under the Trump administration in 2017, the Justice Department rescinded this phaseout, stating that it would re-implement its usage of private correctional facilities. [99]
Most of these institutions are operated by the GEO Group, Inc., exceptions being Giles W. Dalby Correctional Institution, operated by Management and Training Corporation, and McRae Correctional Institution, operated by CoreCivic.
Name | Location | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Correctional Institution, Big Spring | Texas | [100] |
Correctional Institution, Big Spring (Flightline) | Texas | [101] |
Correctional Institution, Giles W. Dalby | Texas | [102] |
Correctional Institution, Great Plains | Oklahoma | [103] |
Correctional Institution, McRae | Georgia | [104] |
Correctional Institution, North Lake | Michigan | [105] |
Correctional Institution, Reeves I & II | Texas | [106] |
Correctional Institution, Reeves III | Texas | [107] |
Federal prison camps (FPCs) are minimum-security facilities, which have dormitory housing, a relatively low staff-to-inmate ratio, and limited or no perimeter fencing. These institutions are work- and program-oriented. Many are located adjacent to larger institutions or on military bases, where inmates help serve the labor needs of the larger institution or base. [1]
Name | Location | Inmate gender | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Federal Prison Camp, Alderson | West Virginia | Female | [108] |
Federal Prison Camp, Bryan | Texas | Female | [109] |
Federal Prison Camp, Duluth | Minnesota | Male | [110] |
Federal Prison Camp, Montgomery | Alabama | Male | [111] |
Federal Prison Camp, Morgantown | West Virginia | Male | [112] |
Federal Prison Camp, Pensacola | Florida | Male | [113] |
Federal Prison Camp, Victorville | California | Female | |
Federal Prison Camp, Yankton | South Dakota | Male | [114] |
Administrative facilities are institutions with special missions, such as the detention of pretrial offenders; the treatment of inmates with serious or chronic medical problems; or the containment of extremely dangerous, violent, or escape-prone inmates. Administrative facilities include metropolitan correctional centers (MCCs), metropolitan detention centers (MDCs), federal detention centers (FDCs), federal medical centers (FMCs), the Federal Transfer Center (FTC), and the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners (MCFP), all of which are capable of holding inmates in all security categories. [1]
This list enumerates facilities that were formerly owned by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Name | Location | Closed |
---|---|---|
Camp Columbia Federal Prison | Washington | 1947 |
Chillicothe Federal Reformatory | Ohio | c. 1950s |
Catalina Federal Honor Camp | Arizona | 1951 |
United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island | California | 1963 |
United States Penitentiary, McNeil Island | Washington | 1982 |
Federal Prison Camp, Eglin | Florida | 2006 |
Federal Prison Camp, Nellis | Nevada | 2005 |
Federal Prison Camp, Boron | California | 2000 |
Federal Prison Camp, Seymour Johnson | North Carolina | 2005 |
The Federal Correctional Institution, Leavenworth is a medium-security federal prison for male inmates in northeast Kansas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. It also includes a satellite federal prison camp (FPC) for minimum-security male offenders.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for all federal prisons and provides for the care, custody, and control of federal prisoners.
The Federal Correctional Institution, Thomson, formerly United States Penitentiary, Thomson and Thomson Correctional Center, is a low-security federal prison located in Thomson, Illinois. It has an area of about 146 acres (59 ha) and comprises 15 buildings. The facility is enclosed by a 15-foot (4.6 m), 7000 volt electric fence surrounded by an additional 12-foot (3.7 m) exterior fence covered with razor wire. Thomson has eight cellhouses with a rated capacity of 2,100 beds—1,900 high-security SMU beds and 200 minimum-security beds at the onsite camp—and according to BOP officials, the potential to use some of its high-security rated capacity to house up to 400 ADX inmates. From its completion in 2001 to 2006, it remained empty. By 2009, only the minimum-security section housed prisoners.
A Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) is a United States Federal government detention facility (prison) operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. There are MDCs throughout the United States.
The Federal Correctional Institution, Seagoville is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Seagoville, Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility includes a detention center for male offenders and an adjacent satellite prison camp that houses minimum security-male offenders.
The United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Terre Haute, Indiana. It is part of the Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. USP Terre Haute houses a Special Confinement Unit for male federal inmates who have been sentenced to death as well as the federal execution chamber. Most inmates sentenced to death by the U.S. federal government are housed in USP Terre Haute prior to execution. FCC Terre Haute is located in the city of Terre Haute, 70 miles (110 km) west of Indianapolis.
The Federal Correctional Complex, Butner is a United States federal prison complex for men near Butner, North Carolina. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. FCC Butner is about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Raleigh, the state capital. It includes the Bureau's largest medical complex, which operates a drug treatment program and specializes in oncology and behavioral science. Among its inmates was Bernie Madoff, who was convicted for perpetrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history. He died at the prison in April 2021.
The Federal Correctional Institution, Miami is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Florida. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), a division of the United States Department of Justice. The institution also has an adjacent satellite prison camp that houses minimum-security male offenders.
Federal Correctional Institution, El Reno is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Oklahoma. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility has an adjacent satellite camp for minimum-security male offenders.
The Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood Medium is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Gregg Township, Union County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.
The Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood Low is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Gregg Township, Union County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.
The Federal Correctional Complex, Allenwood is a federal prison complex for male inmates in Pennsylvania, United States. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.
The Federal Correctional Complex, Coleman is a United States federal prison complex for male inmates in unincorporated Sumter County, Florida, near Wildwood. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), a division of the United States Department of Justice.
The Federal Correctional Complex, Beaumont is a United States federal prison complex for male inmates in unincorporated Jefferson County, Texas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.
The Federal Correctional Complex, Victorville is a United States federal prison complex located in the Victor Valley of the Mojave Desert, in San Bernardino County, southern California. It is on part of the former George Air Force Base (1941−1992) near Victorville, approximately 85 miles (137 km) northeast of Downtown Los Angeles.
The Federal Medical Center, Butner, is a United States federal prison opened in 1995 in North Carolina for male inmates of all security levels who have special health needs. It is part of the Butner Federal Correctional Complex and is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. An adjacent satellite prison camp houses minimum-security male inmates.
The Federal Correctional Complex, Lompoc is a United States federal prison complex for male inmates in California. It is run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice, and consists of two facilities:
The Federal Correctional Complex, Pollock is a United States federal prison complex for male inmates in unincorporated Grant Parish, Louisiana. It is run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice, and consists of two facilities:
The Federal Correctional Complex, Florence is a United States federal prison complex for male inmates in Colorado. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice, and consists of four facilities:
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) operates or contracts with a variety of facilities in California, including United States Penitentiaries (USPs), Federal Correctional Institutions (FCIs), and Private Correctional Institutions (PCIs). Informally, these would all often be described as federal prisons.